Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
less than 3 days left
Walmart makes me happy :)
(Let me rephrase that title. I actually try to stay away from Walmart but getting things for FREE makes me happy ;)
If you're low on cereal, now is the time to stock the pantry! Walmart has certain flavors of Malt-O-Meal cereal on rollback 2 for $2. **Ours weren't in the regular cereal row, one Walmart had them on an end cap and our other local Walmart had them towards the milk on a big display.**
If you use this coupon for $1.50/1 you'll make .50cents per bag (if your store allows overage) or use this coupon and they'll still be free, just no overage. You can print each coupon twice, just click the back button 2-3x and another coupon should print out for ya and if you have multiple printers like me you can get a whole bunch of free cereal!
I also got the Zantac cool mint using the $5/1 coupon here These are regularly priced at $3.98 for the 8 pack so if your store allows overage thats $1.02 bonus per pack!
Using the $2/1 Honey Bunches of Oats coupons I picked up 2 boxes of the Chocolate Clusters which were $1.98 so they were FREE too! The label said $2.35 so I was happy to pay .35cents a box but when I got to the checkout they rang up $1.98.
I got 2 of the trial size Red Zone Old Spice body washes for free too using the $2/2 coupon from March 16th's paper.
To get the Glade Scented Oil Warmers, I used the $3/1 coupons I had from a Sunday paper(not sure which one) and since they are normally priced at $2.47 they were FREE too!
Now I should have had over $9 in overage but my cashier wouldn't let me have it so my balance was just zero. Not that I was complaining :)
I actually had a few more cereal coupons and I went back and got them and 2 more boxes of Zantac and bought a gallon of milk and using the overage the milk was free. So I guess it all depends on your cashier wether or not you will get the overage!
Can't beat free though, with or without the bonus of overage! :)
If you're low on cereal, now is the time to stock the pantry! Walmart has certain flavors of Malt-O-Meal cereal on rollback 2 for $2. **Ours weren't in the regular cereal row, one Walmart had them on an end cap and our other local Walmart had them towards the milk on a big display.**
If you use this coupon for $1.50/1 you'll make .50cents per bag (if your store allows overage) or use this coupon and they'll still be free, just no overage. You can print each coupon twice, just click the back button 2-3x and another coupon should print out for ya and if you have multiple printers like me you can get a whole bunch of free cereal!
I also got the Zantac cool mint using the $5/1 coupon here These are regularly priced at $3.98 for the 8 pack so if your store allows overage thats $1.02 bonus per pack!
Using the $2/1 Honey Bunches of Oats coupons I picked up 2 boxes of the Chocolate Clusters which were $1.98 so they were FREE too! The label said $2.35 so I was happy to pay .35cents a box but when I got to the checkout they rang up $1.98.
I got 2 of the trial size Red Zone Old Spice body washes for free too using the $2/2 coupon from March 16th's paper.
To get the Glade Scented Oil Warmers, I used the $3/1 coupons I had from a Sunday paper(not sure which one) and since they are normally priced at $2.47 they were FREE too!
Now I should have had over $9 in overage but my cashier wouldn't let me have it so my balance was just zero. Not that I was complaining :)
I actually had a few more cereal coupons and I went back and got them and 2 more boxes of Zantac and bought a gallon of milk and using the overage the milk was free. So I guess it all depends on your cashier wether or not you will get the overage!
Can't beat free though, with or without the bonus of overage! :)
Paid to shop at Publix!
A good week at Publix. My store accepts competitor's coupons so I was able to get everything you see in the picture for a little over $2.00 including tax! Not too shabby! Here's how the deal worked out:
For the Classico Spaghetti Sauce that are on sale this week Buy 1 Get 1 Free, I used 2 of the $1/1 coupon from Target here
and stacked with the $1/2 manufacturer's coupon here
and MADE 31 cents each pair!
YAY!
While you're there pick up some FREE French's mustard and Frank's hot sauce using the coupons here. The coupons are for .50 cents off 1 but when they double that it's $1.00 off and The frank's hot sauce is 99cents regular priced. The french's mustard is .95cents so you'll actually make 5cents! :)
I also used the Food Lion baby coupons for $1 off ANY Gerber baby food and stacked with a manufacturer's coupon available here They were on sale $5/5 so that made these FREE too!
Since I had a little over $3 in overage from the Classico I used it to buy some ice cream sandwiches and eggs and only paid $2 and some change for all that you see! I absolutely looove Publix!
What grocery deals did you find this week? I found this and MANY more at Money Saving Mom.com. Head on over to Money Saving Mom for more ways to save on your grocery bill!
Up, Up, and Away!
Here are the pictures of the munchkin, as promised, of the first time she pulled herself up to a stand! She's just barely 7 months old! Wow, I'm in for it! :) Time to baby proof the house!
After about 30 seconds of investigating her new toy...
I think I'll try to stand up!
This is hard work!
I did it!
So proud of herself!
I'll be posting my CVS deals this week, there are a TON, so check back later for some more updates! :) Happy Saturday Ya'll!
After about 30 seconds of investigating her new toy...
I think I'll try to stand up!
This is hard work!
I did it!
So proud of herself!
I'll be posting my CVS deals this week, there are a TON, so check back later for some more updates! :) Happy Saturday Ya'll!
Friday, April 11, 2008
a good start!
Lots to write about tomorrow...including a new business venture for me!
but I thought I'd share what we're having for breakfast tomorrow. Breakfast is one of my favorite things to cook. Nothing better than to start the day off with a yummy treat! Enjoy!
Bacon Cheese Pull-Aparts
Ingredients
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 (16.3-oz.) can Pillsbury Grands! Flaky Layers Refrigerated Original Biscuits
6 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, cooked
3 oz. (3/4 cup) shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions (4 medium) (I often leave these out.)
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 11x7- or 12x8-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, beat egg and milk with wire whisk until smooth.
2. Separate dough into 8 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Gently stir biscuit pieces into egg mixture to coat evenly. Fold in bacon, cheese and onions. Spoon mixture into sprayed dish; arrange biscuit pieces in single layer.
3. Bake at 350°F. for 23 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into squares.
(recipe source - Pillsbury)
Thank you Cynthia at What's for Dinner! for this yummy breakfast idea! If you haven't already, check out her site. She has some easy and tasty recipes that'll make your mouth water!
What are your favorite breakfast recipes? Share your recipe or links to your recipe in the comments section :)
but I thought I'd share what we're having for breakfast tomorrow. Breakfast is one of my favorite things to cook. Nothing better than to start the day off with a yummy treat! Enjoy!
Bacon Cheese Pull-Aparts
Ingredients
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 (16.3-oz.) can Pillsbury Grands! Flaky Layers Refrigerated Original Biscuits
6 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, cooked
3 oz. (3/4 cup) shredded Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions (4 medium) (I often leave these out.)
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 11x7- or 12x8-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, beat egg and milk with wire whisk until smooth.
2. Separate dough into 8 biscuits; cut each into quarters. Gently stir biscuit pieces into egg mixture to coat evenly. Fold in bacon, cheese and onions. Spoon mixture into sprayed dish; arrange biscuit pieces in single layer.
3. Bake at 350°F. for 23 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into squares.
(recipe source - Pillsbury)
Thank you Cynthia at What's for Dinner! for this yummy breakfast idea! If you haven't already, check out her site. She has some easy and tasty recipes that'll make your mouth water!
What are your favorite breakfast recipes? Share your recipe or links to your recipe in the comments section :)
Thursday, April 10, 2008
them's the brakes...
FIGURE A.
The end of last month we went on vacation and because we were traveling with the munchkin, that meant we had to bring the car seat and stroller. Well I knew we would have to gate check the carseat and the stroller because I didn't want to have to pay an extra $250 for a 3rd checked bag and $325 for a 4th, (ridiculous I know)so we got to the gate, we took our seats on the plane and I mentioned to the flight attendant that unless someone knew how to release the brake (which is NOT that hard, see figure A above), seperate the top part of the stroller and collapse the chassis, to please come and get me and I'd be more than happy to do it for them. (The stroller doubles/triples/quadruples to a playseat, highchair, etc etc so it seems complicated if you've never used it before) Well anyhow...back to the story. The flight attendant said Okay, we'll come get you if we have any problems" and right before we were set to depart she came by and said "oh, we had no trouble with the stroller" so I figured all was well... Well, all was not well.
Once we arrived in Orlando I waited for the stroller and here it came. All in one piece. Not separated, not collapsed. Hmm I thought, I guess this is why she said they had no problems with it, beacuse they didn't collapse it. I put the brake on and instead of staying put so I could load Jolie in, it went cruising down the ramp at what seemed like 25mph. Apparently, their version of collapsing it meant not figuring out how to release the brake and just kept pushing it till it broke. GAH!
Well I called the airline and they said unless I could prove it wasn't broke before the flight there was nothing they could do! WHAT?!@ You just ruined a $900 stroller! There's nothing you can do?! Well I decided to give Bugaboo a call and see what they could do and they said they would send me a whole new chassis for FREE! They said they don't bother trying to replace the brakes anymore and that it should be here within a week. Well I am so happy to say that the chassis came yesterday and that I can't say enough how good of a company Bugaboo is. Allegiant Air, not so much. I guess you get what you pay for.
So there's 2 morals to this story. One is, Bugaboo is an awesome company and I cannot recommend them enough! and two, apparently you need to video tape your strollers, and any other belongings that you think might get damaged, as you are boarding one of Allegiant's flights because, then and ONLY then will you have "proof" that the brakes, or whatever it is they could possible screw up, worked before hand. Yes, I am still a tiny bit upset.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Walk n' Roll!!
Yesterday was a great day for baby deals! Since I saved all that money on diapers, I decided to head to our local children's clothing resale shop that I had a $10 off a $50 purchase coupon for on a hunt to get a walker for Jolie and to see what other bargains I could find. (Consignment or resale shops are a GOLDMINE when it comes to buying baby equipment! I wish I would have known about them sooner!) As soon as I walked in I found an almost brand new Winnie The Pooh walker(it actually probably was brand new because the wheels had no dirt on them at all!) and it was $26! Way better than the $49 I had seen it for at Walmart! I was thrilled! Then to add to my enjoyment I looked up on a shelf and and low and behold there was the Fisher Price Sit to Stand Giraffe gazing down at me that I had been debating about buying for only $9! What a steal! I looked around at what else I could find to bring my total to $50 so I could use my coupon, and I found a cute Baby Gap hat and shorts set, a Children's Place swimsuit, some new white leather Keds, and a few other little things. I paid $40 for everything I got! I was so excited to get home and have Jolie test out her new toys.
Well, she LOVES her walker. She can only go backwards for now but she you can tell she likes being in control of where she rolls! Yeah, so I guess I should let her master crawling first but I can't help myself. I'm a sucker for baby stuff. Then there was the Sit to Stand Giraffe. Well my friends, whoever named that thing was right on. As soon as Jolie sat in front of it she pulled up on the ears and after a little bit of a struggle, she pulled herself up to a stand! What?! She's only 7 months old! She's not supposed to grow up this fast!!! I was amazed that she was even attempting this, since she had never before, so I quick ran and grabbed the disposable camera that I'll be taking to Walgreens later today to have developed for FREE! and snapped a few photos of the process. They should prove to be rather amusing. She was making some interesting faces. I'll post them later.
Another note.... Jolie has had her 2 bottom teeth for a while now, and now her 4 top teeth are coming in. I've tried to get some pictures of her new pearly whites but Jolie turns into Fort Knox and refuses to open her mouth. One day I'll get a picture of those elusive things. I know they're in there.
Well here's my problem..only one of her top teeth has broke though so far, which has made for a few sleepless nights around here. I've been using Hylands Teething Tablets and gel, frozen bananas in her mesh bag feeder, teething rings, you name it, to try to help with any discomfort, and I'll give her some Tylenol at bedtime but it doesn't seem to really be helping. What do you do for your teething baby to help ease their pain? I'm not a huge fan of Tylenol/Motrin so if you have any homeopathic remedies to share, please do!
Well, she LOVES her walker. She can only go backwards for now but she you can tell she likes being in control of where she rolls! Yeah, so I guess I should let her master crawling first but I can't help myself. I'm a sucker for baby stuff. Then there was the Sit to Stand Giraffe. Well my friends, whoever named that thing was right on. As soon as Jolie sat in front of it she pulled up on the ears and after a little bit of a struggle, she pulled herself up to a stand! What?! She's only 7 months old! She's not supposed to grow up this fast!!! I was amazed that she was even attempting this, since she had never before, so I quick ran and grabbed the disposable camera that I'll be taking to Walgreens later today to have developed for FREE! and snapped a few photos of the process. They should prove to be rather amusing. She was making some interesting faces. I'll post them later.
Another note.... Jolie has had her 2 bottom teeth for a while now, and now her 4 top teeth are coming in. I've tried to get some pictures of her new pearly whites but Jolie turns into Fort Knox and refuses to open her mouth. One day I'll get a picture of those elusive things. I know they're in there.
Well here's my problem..only one of her top teeth has broke though so far, which has made for a few sleepless nights around here. I've been using Hylands Teething Tablets and gel, frozen bananas in her mesh bag feeder, teething rings, you name it, to try to help with any discomfort, and I'll give her some Tylenol at bedtime but it doesn't seem to really be helping. What do you do for your teething baby to help ease their pain? I'm not a huge fan of Tylenol/Motrin so if you have any homeopathic remedies to share, please do!
Who wants FREE ECBs?!!
Everyone knows I love CVS. That's no secret. What was a secret to me though was that there's a GREAT new way you can earn ECBs and you don't even have to spend a dime or leave your home!
CVS has a program called CVS Advisor Panel and when you join and complete your profile, they will send you up to 4 surveys per year requesting your feedback about certain products, services, etc. For each survey you complete you can earn $5, $10, or even $15! Not bad at all! I signed up today. You should too!
I had to laugh though when one of the questions on the sign up survey was "how many times a month do you visit CVS" ...hmmmm? I don't know... maybe 4, 5, or 15 times? Wow, I need help! :)
Are you interested in signing up? Grab your Extra Care card number and go here: CVS Advisor Panel. They'll send you an e-mail to confirm and then just sit back and wait for the surveys to earn your free ECBs! Neat huh?
Thanks to Wendy at More Than Enough for the heads up on this one!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
If you buy Pampers...
I've been a loyal Pampers customer from day 1 and I was thrilled to find out that I can earn free stuff just for buying them! So I wanted to pass this on to any other mommy's or mommy's-to-be that use Pampers.I wish I had found out about this sooner!
It's called Gifts to Grow and you find the labels on the inside of the package of diapers. It takes just a few minutes to register then you go and scour the trash for all the diaper packages that you just threw away if you're like me, and enter the codes! I'm already up to 19.5 points! Another 1/2 point and I'll be able to get a free book for Jolie! They have other things you can get too, like free movie passes etc. For more detailed instructions and info visit Kendra at Handprints On The Wallor Pampers.com
Free $25 ends in 7 days!
I just realized that the free $25 I posted about the other day is only good til APRIL 15th, not May! :( So if you want a few extra dollars in your pocket, take 5 minutes and sign up today! Only 7 Days left!
Free Mocha Iced Latté Wednesday 4/9 @ Sonic!
Head to Sonic this Wednesday, from 5pm to 9pm, to get one free 10-ounce Mocha Iced Latté. All you have to do is ask! It doesn't say a limit to the number of free lattés per vehicle, so load up the car and get a free treat! :) Thanks to iMommies for this link!
Monday, April 7, 2008
.98 cent huggies diapers!!
This is what I got yesterday at CVS. I actually have 5 excedrin's but one was put away.
This deal only worked for me yesterday because the CVS coupons expired 4/6 BUT if you're store lets you use expired coupons then try it. I actually went again today and it worked :)
I did this 3 times.
Bought:
1 Huggies Supreme 35pack diapers $8.99
2 Nature's RX Essentials Vitamins $14.99/2 (On sale for B1G1)
Total before coupons: $23.98
Used:
1 $4/$20 CVS Welcome Coupon
1 $2 CVS Huggies Coupon
1 $2 Huggies Manufacturer's Coupon
1 $5 CVS RX Essentials Coupon
2 $5/1 RX Essentials Manuf. Coupons
for .98cents AND I received $10 in ECB's for spending $25 in baby items (part of the weekly deal buy $25 worth of select baby products get $10ECBS) Now, I only had 1 $2/1 manuf. coupons for the Huggies, but I had 3 other $1.50/1 that I got from a Huggies Mailer & Sunday papers. So the other transactions I paid about $1.48 for. So I got $116.91 worth of goodies for $3.94+tax!! If THAT'S not a deal, I don't know what is!!
Thanks to Jenny at Mommin' it Up for this great idea!!
In a seperate transaction I also bought:
5 Excedrins at $1.99 each,(Limit 5)
Used $2/1 from here, here, and here
These were FREE after coupons and I actually MADE money because I got $5 ECBs back as part of the deal Buy 1 Excedrin 24ct at $1.99, Get $1 ECBs (Limit of 5)
Making money is so much fun!
I've done some more deals today and am going back tomorrow to hopefully pick up some Softsoaps that they were out of.
Just a note, it pays to talk to the CVS clerks. I asked them if they had any more soft soaps and the cashier offered to write me a rain check for 5 free! WOOHOO!! She also told me her truck came in today and that they might have some out by tomorrow! We shall see!
What did you get at CVS this week? I'd love to hear what other deals are out there.
This deal only worked for me yesterday because the CVS coupons expired 4/6 BUT if you're store lets you use expired coupons then try it. I actually went again today and it worked :)
I did this 3 times.
Bought:
1 Huggies Supreme 35pack diapers $8.99
2 Nature's RX Essentials Vitamins $14.99/2 (On sale for B1G1)
Total before coupons: $23.98
Used:
1 $4/$20 CVS Welcome Coupon
1 $2 CVS Huggies Coupon
1 $2 Huggies Manufacturer's Coupon
1 $5 CVS RX Essentials Coupon
2 $5/1 RX Essentials Manuf. Coupons
for .98cents AND I received $10 in ECB's for spending $25 in baby items (part of the weekly deal buy $25 worth of select baby products get $10ECBS) Now, I only had 1 $2/1 manuf. coupons for the Huggies, but I had 3 other $1.50/1 that I got from a Huggies Mailer & Sunday papers. So the other transactions I paid about $1.48 for. So I got $116.91 worth of goodies for $3.94+tax!! If THAT'S not a deal, I don't know what is!!
Thanks to Jenny at Mommin' it Up for this great idea!!
In a seperate transaction I also bought:
5 Excedrins at $1.99 each,(Limit 5)
Used $2/1 from here, here, and here
These were FREE after coupons and I actually MADE money because I got $5 ECBs back as part of the deal Buy 1 Excedrin 24ct at $1.99, Get $1 ECBs (Limit of 5)
Making money is so much fun!
I've done some more deals today and am going back tomorrow to hopefully pick up some Softsoaps that they were out of.
Just a note, it pays to talk to the CVS clerks. I asked them if they had any more soft soaps and the cashier offered to write me a rain check for 5 free! WOOHOO!! She also told me her truck came in today and that they might have some out by tomorrow! We shall see!
What did you get at CVS this week? I'd love to hear what other deals are out there.
Prayer
This story touched my heart and I wanted to share it with you. Please pray for their family's comfort and to be able to find peace in this sad situation. As a mother, I cannot even fathom the pain they must be feeling.
Free Film Processing at Walgreens this Wednesday!
This Wednesday only, use this coupon to get a FREE set of 4x6 prints at Walgreens! Also, since the coupon is only for actual film not digital prints, why not use this coupon to have your photos put on a CD! Perfect for uploadin' & emailin'! :) Now go and find one of your old disposable cameras laying around and get 'em developed!
I also plan on picking up some D batteries for .99cents using that same page of coupons! Lately Jolie has been loving on her swing and that sucker takes 4 D batteries, so I'm loading up! :)
Thanks to Denise at The "Cents"ible Sawyer for the link to the coupons! Go check her out!
I saved $107.44 at Walgreens this week!!
This is the first week I've tried my hand at the Walgreens deals. I've gotten pretty good at CVSing and the deals this week at Walgreens were pretty easy, not to mention FREE!! Thanks to Money Saving Mom for some of these deal ideas!!
Here's what I got:
My original total was $123.63 but I only spent $16.19 OOP (Out of pocket)!!!
This is how I did it
I bought
7 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats. On Sale for $2, so use this $2/1 coupon here, here,here and last but not least, here. You can print one at each! Makes them FREE!
8 Aquafresh Advanced Toothpaste on sale for $2. Use this $2/1 coupon here and they are FREE too!
4 Airwick Freshmatic Minis on sale for Buy1Get1 Free (9.99 for 2)and use this $4/1 coupon or the $4/1 coupons from 4/6 SmartSource insert. (From Sunday's paper)
3 Oust Candle Holders on sale for $3.59 from $7.99. I had 3 $2/1 coupons from a recent Sunday paper)
3 Renuzit cone airfreshners on sale with in ad coupon for $1. I had 3 $.55/1 coupons that I used making these .45cents each!
1 Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil on sale for 4/$3. I bought one, used the coupon and used a $.55cent off coupon I had.
2 Sunday papers for the coupons of course! at .88cents each. No coupons for these :(
1 Color Ink Cartridge Refill- FREE with last weeks coupon! (Didn't add this into my total since it was part of last weeks deal, just never had time to pick it up!)
so my total savings were:
$2.24 saved with Walgreens Coupons
$54.10 saved with Walgreens Advertised Deals
$51.10 saved with Manufacturer's Coupons!!
Thats 107.44 saved!! Not too shabby for my first trip to Walgreens! What about you? Have you found any other great deals at Walgreens?
PS. I'll post my CVS deals I got last night later on!
Here's what I got:
My original total was $123.63 but I only spent $16.19 OOP (Out of pocket)!!!
This is how I did it
I bought
7 boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats. On Sale for $2, so use this $2/1 coupon here, here,here and last but not least, here. You can print one at each! Makes them FREE!
8 Aquafresh Advanced Toothpaste on sale for $2. Use this $2/1 coupon here and they are FREE too!
4 Airwick Freshmatic Minis on sale for Buy1Get1 Free (9.99 for 2)and use this $4/1 coupon or the $4/1 coupons from 4/6 SmartSource insert. (From Sunday's paper)
3 Oust Candle Holders on sale for $3.59 from $7.99. I had 3 $2/1 coupons from a recent Sunday paper)
3 Renuzit cone airfreshners on sale with in ad coupon for $1. I had 3 $.55/1 coupons that I used making these .45cents each!
1 Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil on sale for 4/$3. I bought one, used the coupon and used a $.55cent off coupon I had.
2 Sunday papers for the coupons of course! at .88cents each. No coupons for these :(
1 Color Ink Cartridge Refill- FREE with last weeks coupon! (Didn't add this into my total since it was part of last weeks deal, just never had time to pick it up!)
so my total savings were:
$2.24 saved with Walgreens Coupons
$54.10 saved with Walgreens Advertised Deals
$51.10 saved with Manufacturer's Coupons!!
Thats 107.44 saved!! Not too shabby for my first trip to Walgreens! What about you? Have you found any other great deals at Walgreens?
PS. I'll post my CVS deals I got last night later on!
Coupon crazy
I believe one key to saving money is organizing your finances. One way I try to do this is keeping my coupons organized. I never thought I'd be "that" woman in the store with loads of coupons but my, how much things change when you have a baby!! Lately though everytime I go into a store, someone stops me and asks about my coupon book. I've even had 2 men ask me to teach their wives how I "coupon". So I figured this would make a great post, in case any of you out there are also looking for a way to save money and be organized!
I decided to go with the coupon binder method. It's a little bit of time/work up front but to me it's so much easier than trying to sift through the coupons in a plain ol' accordian file. So here's a picture of my binder:
I found this pink one (of course) at KMART and I'm actually already starting to outgrow it! I can hardly believe it. It's a 2inch binder I think? I'd recommend starting with a 3 inch so you don't run into the space problem I'm having. Believe me, it's easier to do than you think!
Here's how I have all the coupon's organized. I used clear baseball card pages that are available anywhere (K-Mart, Walmart, etc) and 3 packs of tabbed dividers from Office Depot. These were great because they had printable inserts. Saved me a lot of time instead of having to hand write each tab!
These are the categories I used:
Baby
Bags
Baking (I also use this category for refrig. cookies, brownie/cake mixes, cooking oils, etc)
Batteries
Beverages (Coffee, Crystal light, sodas)
Bread
Candy
Canned
Cereal
Cleaner
-Airfreshners, Candles **I had to make a second category because once I started with coupons I began noticing that just about every company out there wants your house to smell good and it was taking up too much of the actual "Cleaner category" so I made one all its own!**
Condiments
Dairy
Frozen
Health food
Hygiene
Jelly/Peanut Butter
Laundry
Meat
Medication
Paper products
Pasta
Pet
Rice (I use this category for boxed items too, like betty crocker potatoes, hamburger helper, etc) If you can think of a better tab for them let me know! :)
Salad dressing
Shampoo/Shaving
Snacks
Seasonings/Spices
Toothpaste
The last tab I keep is for restaraunt coupons. There always seems to be one or two in every weeks paper so I just stick them back there so I always have them handy if I'm out and want to grab something quick for lunch or dinner.
As you can see, it's super easy to just flip through the pages and find the coupon you're looking for. It also makes it easy to see when they expire so you can just pull those out when they do if you don't get to use them before hand.
I keep a pair of scissors, a small calculator for working up deals on the spot, a pen, and usually I have that weeks CVS ad too! (I'm am addict)
This method has saved me SO much money! Just yesterday I was in Walgreens getting my free cereal and toothpaste and I saw they were clearancing the Oust candles from $7.99 to $3.47. I thought I had a coupon for them and sure enough, I tabbed over to "airfreshner/candle" and there they were. 3 $2.00 off each Oust candle! I got 3 of them for much less than the price of 1 at full price! See, it pays to be organized!
If you have any questions or tips on how you coupon, please leave me a comment! I'd love to hear your ideas!
I decided to go with the coupon binder method. It's a little bit of time/work up front but to me it's so much easier than trying to sift through the coupons in a plain ol' accordian file. So here's a picture of my binder:
I found this pink one (of course) at KMART and I'm actually already starting to outgrow it! I can hardly believe it. It's a 2inch binder I think? I'd recommend starting with a 3 inch so you don't run into the space problem I'm having. Believe me, it's easier to do than you think!
Here's how I have all the coupon's organized. I used clear baseball card pages that are available anywhere (K-Mart, Walmart, etc) and 3 packs of tabbed dividers from Office Depot. These were great because they had printable inserts. Saved me a lot of time instead of having to hand write each tab!
These are the categories I used:
Baby
Bags
Baking (I also use this category for refrig. cookies, brownie/cake mixes, cooking oils, etc)
Batteries
Beverages (Coffee, Crystal light, sodas)
Bread
Candy
Canned
Cereal
Cleaner
-Airfreshners, Candles **I had to make a second category because once I started with coupons I began noticing that just about every company out there wants your house to smell good and it was taking up too much of the actual "Cleaner category" so I made one all its own!**
Condiments
Dairy
Frozen
Health food
Hygiene
Jelly/Peanut Butter
Laundry
Meat
Medication
Paper products
Pasta
Pet
Rice (I use this category for boxed items too, like betty crocker potatoes, hamburger helper, etc) If you can think of a better tab for them let me know! :)
Salad dressing
Shampoo/Shaving
Snacks
Seasonings/Spices
Toothpaste
The last tab I keep is for restaraunt coupons. There always seems to be one or two in every weeks paper so I just stick them back there so I always have them handy if I'm out and want to grab something quick for lunch or dinner.
As you can see, it's super easy to just flip through the pages and find the coupon you're looking for. It also makes it easy to see when they expire so you can just pull those out when they do if you don't get to use them before hand.
I keep a pair of scissors, a small calculator for working up deals on the spot, a pen, and usually I have that weeks CVS ad too! (I'm am addict)
This method has saved me SO much money! Just yesterday I was in Walgreens getting my free cereal and toothpaste and I saw they were clearancing the Oust candles from $7.99 to $3.47. I thought I had a coupon for them and sure enough, I tabbed over to "airfreshner/candle" and there they were. 3 $2.00 off each Oust candle! I got 3 of them for much less than the price of 1 at full price! See, it pays to be organized!
If you have any questions or tips on how you coupon, please leave me a comment! I'd love to hear your ideas!
Friday, April 4, 2008
Free Money Fridays!
I've recently been trying to find ways to earn a little bit of extra money as well starting a good savings for Christmas from home while Jolie naps. It's been great.
I am always happy to share things I find to be helpful in earning extra money. I came across a few sites that work for me and wanted to pass them on to you!
The first is called Revolution Money Exchange.
It's basically the new paypalbut no fees. For signing up I recieved a $25 bonus in my account and all I had to do was sign up! There's no gimmicks or anything. I was a bit leary when it said I could transfer the money into my bank account so I decided to have them take the $2.50 out of my free $25 and have them mail me a check, and boy am I glad I did! My check came in the mail 4 days later! I also referred my mom, dad, and brother so I received $10 for each of those. Here's a copy of my checks:
This is my check for $52.50!!! ($55.00-$2.50 for mailing the check)
This is the check my mom received for $22.50 ($25.00-$2.50 for mailing the check)
Simple as that! It only takes a couple of minutes to sign up! Then you confirm your account through an email they will send you. After that, your bonus will be added to your Revolution Money Exchange account!
Not too bad for less than 5 minutes of my time! Now to some of you an extra $25 or so isn't going to make a huge difference but it sure will buy a case of diapers for us and that to me is wonderful! Here's the link if you're interested in signing up too!
The free $25 is only good til APRIL 15th! :)
I also recently started doing a program called Cash Crate.
Now Cash Crate isn't going to send you $25 for free, and it's not going to take less than 5 minutes but it is fairly quick and easy and you can make a few extra dollars to pay for a treat for yourself, or in my case my daughter, or even a bill or two. It pays to be organized too!!
To earn money on Cash Crate you can do a few different things. There's the surveys that you can fill out that are completely free and usually only take about 10 minutes to complete. There are also daily surveys that you can complete (up to 2 per day) that pay $1.75 each!
You can also complete offers that give you a higher payout than the surveys. These usually involve free trial offers that you sign up either for free or a dollar or two but have a HUGE return on. For instance this month you can sign up for a one month trial of Blockbuster for $9.95 and earn $20.50!
Netflix also has a completely FREE trial that pays out $13.50! (Who doens't like free movies delivered to your door?!)
Thats $24 alone! WOohoo!
I have a notebook that I use to write down what offers I signed up for, when I need to cancel by so I don't get charged after the free trial, and how much they pay out. This is where it pays to be organized!
The first month I did cash crate (this is my 3rd month) I received a check for $15.
The first month, I didn't want to spend too much time doing surveys & offers, if I wasn't going to get paid. Then my check came and WOW! It really worked! That motivated me to complete more offers so the second month I recieved a check for almost $50!!! They usually send your checks out the 20th of the following month So, if you earn $100 in April, you'll get paid in mid-May.
This month I decided to do Stamps.com If you sign-up for a free 1 month trial you'll earn $8.00.
They also give you $5 worth of free postage that you can print from home! I used it to send a small package to my grandparents! :)
I also have completed a few surveys and other completely free offers so I'm due to receive a check for almost $75!!
Cash Crate also has a referral program so if you sign up and then refer someone you'll get a $3 bonus! You can make money without referrals but every little penny helps! If you want to sign up, please click the banner below:
Hope you decide to give one of these a try! If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll answer it. I would love to hear how you are doing and any other great deals you've found. Drop me a line!
I am an avid coupon shopper now and thanks to Money Saving Mom & The "Censt"ible Sawyer, I'm absolutely addicted to CVSing
PS. Try using a program called Roboform which will automatically fill out forms, like the surveys, free sample requests,etc. I downloaded it and it's such a time saver! One click fills in my name, address, email address, and birth date!
Typing in your information over and over again, especially when completing surveys takes time, so I'd definitely recommend downloading Roboform.
I am always happy to share things I find to be helpful in earning extra money. I came across a few sites that work for me and wanted to pass them on to you!
The first is called Revolution Money Exchange.
It's basically the new paypalbut no fees. For signing up I recieved a $25 bonus in my account and all I had to do was sign up! There's no gimmicks or anything. I was a bit leary when it said I could transfer the money into my bank account so I decided to have them take the $2.50 out of my free $25 and have them mail me a check, and boy am I glad I did! My check came in the mail 4 days later! I also referred my mom, dad, and brother so I received $10 for each of those. Here's a copy of my checks:
This is my check for $52.50!!! ($55.00-$2.50 for mailing the check)
This is the check my mom received for $22.50 ($25.00-$2.50 for mailing the check)
Simple as that! It only takes a couple of minutes to sign up! Then you confirm your account through an email they will send you. After that, your bonus will be added to your Revolution Money Exchange account!
Not too bad for less than 5 minutes of my time! Now to some of you an extra $25 or so isn't going to make a huge difference but it sure will buy a case of diapers for us and that to me is wonderful! Here's the link if you're interested in signing up too!
The free $25 is only good til APRIL 15th! :)
I also recently started doing a program called Cash Crate.
Now Cash Crate isn't going to send you $25 for free, and it's not going to take less than 5 minutes but it is fairly quick and easy and you can make a few extra dollars to pay for a treat for yourself, or in my case my daughter, or even a bill or two. It pays to be organized too!!
To earn money on Cash Crate you can do a few different things. There's the surveys that you can fill out that are completely free and usually only take about 10 minutes to complete. There are also daily surveys that you can complete (up to 2 per day) that pay $1.75 each!
You can also complete offers that give you a higher payout than the surveys. These usually involve free trial offers that you sign up either for free or a dollar or two but have a HUGE return on. For instance this month you can sign up for a one month trial of Blockbuster for $9.95 and earn $20.50!
Netflix also has a completely FREE trial that pays out $13.50! (Who doens't like free movies delivered to your door?!)
Thats $24 alone! WOohoo!
I have a notebook that I use to write down what offers I signed up for, when I need to cancel by so I don't get charged after the free trial, and how much they pay out. This is where it pays to be organized!
The first month I did cash crate (this is my 3rd month) I received a check for $15.
The first month, I didn't want to spend too much time doing surveys & offers, if I wasn't going to get paid. Then my check came and WOW! It really worked! That motivated me to complete more offers so the second month I recieved a check for almost $50!!! They usually send your checks out the 20th of the following month So, if you earn $100 in April, you'll get paid in mid-May.
This month I decided to do Stamps.com If you sign-up for a free 1 month trial you'll earn $8.00.
They also give you $5 worth of free postage that you can print from home! I used it to send a small package to my grandparents! :)
I also have completed a few surveys and other completely free offers so I'm due to receive a check for almost $75!!
Cash Crate also has a referral program so if you sign up and then refer someone you'll get a $3 bonus! You can make money without referrals but every little penny helps! If you want to sign up, please click the banner below:
Hope you decide to give one of these a try! If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll answer it. I would love to hear how you are doing and any other great deals you've found. Drop me a line!
I am an avid coupon shopper now and thanks to Money Saving Mom & The "Censt"ible Sawyer, I'm absolutely addicted to CVSing
PS. Try using a program called Roboform which will automatically fill out forms, like the surveys, free sample requests,etc. I downloaded it and it's such a time saver! One click fills in my name, address, email address, and birth date!
Typing in your information over and over again, especially when completing surveys takes time, so I'd definitely recommend downloading Roboform.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Nothing like the FL sunshine!
I decided I'd rather break up the last months recap into a few different posts that way it'll be easier to read. Well we got back from vacation down in Orlando earlier this week. What an awesome time we had!! I was a little worried about flying with Jolie for the first time, especially since she had a little bit of a stuffy nose but she did great! She didn't fuss for even a second! Well, the weather was beautiful. They don't call FL the sunshine stay for nothin'! It was definitely a shock coming back to a brisk 43 degrees! Which didn't help the fact that I caught whatever sickness Jolie & Joe had. :( Anyhow, our first day there we were able to catch the last Braves spring training game. Jolie was there in her pink baseball striped Braves outfit that my mom and I found when I was 3 months pregnant. I figured she could wear it to a game while her daddy was pitching but since his shoulder surgery we settled for just going to the game WITH daddy. One of Joe's friends from Rome actually pitched in the game so that was fun to watch. He did really good too! Hopefully one day when Joe's shoulder heals, Jolie will be able to see her daddy pitch too. While we were there we took Jolie to Cocoa Beach (about an hours drive) and she LOVED it! She would squeal everytime the waves came up to her toes then when the waves would retreat she would protest until they came back again. She loved the sand too. I think I'm still cleaning out sand from all her little rolls but it was worth it! We also were able to enjoy the hotel pool while we were there too. Yet another thing Jolie absolutely loved. She is definitely a water baby. I had a feeling she would love it just based on how excited she gets when its bath time so I can already hardly wait for it to get warm enough here to take her to the pool again! Overall our trip was great, Joe's mom flew down on Friday so that was nice. I'm glad she was able to spend some time with Jolie. She even watched Jolie so Joe and I could go out to eat one night on our own. Later in the week we ventured to Celebration, FL. It's right outside of Orlando and it is picture perfect. It almost seemed like a Disney town. Too perfect to be real but it was. While in Celebration we had a bite to eat and strolled around. Joe had found this neat bookstore while he was there a few months ago and suggested we go inside. I'm glad we did because I found a book called "Rocket Rolie Polie" based on the Disney TV series Rolie Polie Olie. I was so excited to find a book that had rolie polie in it since Jolie's nick name "roly poly Jolie!" I didn't even know there was a TV show. I guess I'm a little out of the loop. Anyhow here's a few pictures from our trip.
Taking a jumping break to pose
After sitting in the steamy bathroom to try to relieve some of her congestion and we ended up with a mohawk! :)
Taking a jumping break to pose
After sitting in the steamy bathroom to try to relieve some of her congestion and we ended up with a mohawk! :)
Here comes Jolie cottontail
Easter this year was great! Lots of family time, good food, and of course candy! Everyone came to my mom's house for Easter so that was nice. Joe was still in Orlando so he wasn't there but we left to go down there 3 days later so we celebrated our Easter together down there. The day before Easter my best friend Anna and her husband Chad came down to visit us! They had gotten Jolie the sweetest white whicker Easter basket with a hot pink polka dot liner filled with all sorts of treats for Jolie! I can honestly say I have the most amazing friends ever! Anna always finds the cutest things for Jolie. In her basket she had a few board books for Jolie, and easter egg shaped plate, a super soft stuffed pink hippo, a pink tank top with a sweet sunflower jacket and pink socks! What a lucky girl I have! Anna and Chad are so good to us! They both are going to make a wonderful parents one day! Joe's mom had also sent a really nice Easter basket package for Jolie too! It was loaded with books, videos, candy, stuffed animals, swimsuits, bathrobes, 2 really nice dresses, and a little summer outfit too! WHEW! What a blessing! Here are a few pictures from Easter... Jolie also saw the Easter bunny too but I can't find the picture CD from that just yet, but hopefully soon I'll locate that and be able to post it on here!
Jolie's casual outfit for her first Easter!!
Jolie's Easter dress that my mom got her before she was even born!
What a sweetheart...giving CPR to Lampchop!
Grammy, Papa, & Jolie
My mom, brother & I
She's the happiest with no clothes on! ;)
Jolie's casual outfit for her first Easter!!
Jolie's Easter dress that my mom got her before she was even born!
What a sweetheart...giving CPR to Lampchop!
Grammy, Papa, & Jolie
My mom, brother & I
She's the happiest with no clothes on! ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
